Inlet valves of internal combustion engines make possible introducing air or an air-fuel mixture into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine and are exposed to equally high thermal and also mechanical loads during the operation of the internal combustion engine. Valve bodies of light-weight materials, such as are increasingly employed in modern, fuel-saving combustion engines are particularly susceptible to wear. Suitable materials for such weight-optimised valve bodies are for example aluminium or titanium, which however do not reach the strength of conventional valve bodies, for example of steel. In this respect, inlet valves with valve bodies of light metal frequently have the problem of a lifespan that is substantially reduced compared with conventional valves. The axial end of a valve stem of the valve body facing away from the valve disc is generally considered to be particularly susceptible to increased wear, which serves for mounting the entire valve body on the cylinder head of the internal combustion engine.
US 2002/033465 A1 attempts to counter this problem by attaching a valve cap of plastic at the axial end of a valve body formed by a shaped sheet metal part.
EP 0911 493 A2 describes a valve having a valve disc and a hollow-shaped valve stem, wherein on the latter a valve cap is welded onto the axial end.